Base Training...

Question: When does Georgia start her base training? How many hours per week does she train?

Well, let's see - this answer might be the kind that just generates more questions - but I will try to give a good overview on base training.
Between cyclocross season and the beginning of mountain bike season, Georgia has about a 3 month break from racing. The traditional idea of base training (long, slow base miles) really is not something that I advocate and is not a part of Georgia's training in any way.
The last couple of years we have approached cross season as the "off" season. This is the time of year when she is riding the least - hours are low but the quality of those hours is high. We did a lot of running this year and the general goals of cross season were to enjoy racing, stay fresh, and maintain lactate threshold fitness.
In January - we start up with the big miles. These are very high quality miles and not slow by any means. The general goal of January through March is to build a giant aerobic engine and get the ol' LT as high as we can. We do this through "LFD" rides - this means "Long Fast Distance" and is my modification of the running term "LSD" or Long Slow Distance. We spend a lot of time at and around tempo pace and really limit recovery on these rides. The result over time is a really big diesel engine. We also might do 2-3 days back to back, which puts a very big load on the system and will often produce a big adaptation (once you've recovered).
If you neglect recovery, these workouts are a great way to overtrain really fast. The physical stress from these rides often requires more recovery time than you might expect. Most cases of overtraining are caused not because you have trained too hard, but because you haven't given yourself enough rest. So, I prefer the term "under-resting" to "over-training."

All of your fitness is gained on recovery days, so never underestimate their importance - not only for physical rest, but for a mental rest as well. Think of recovery days as your reward for all of your efforts. These days present a great opportunity to stay the heck off your bike. Go for a walk, stay hydrated, stretch, and hit the hay early. This will leave you much fresher for your hard days.

Moving on...the "total hours per week" concept is a very over-rated measure of work in my opinion. It says nothing about what you have done during those hours. You could ride 30 hours at recovery pace and you would be just as fit if you had sat on the couch for 30 hours. So, I always stress quality over quantity. 5 hour rides are the longest rides that Georgia will do, and she'll spend most of that time just below tempo pace - right around a 20 mph average for a lot of the road rides.

Thanks again for the questions! Keep 'em coming!